Page 45 of The Healer and the Wolf: Part Two

No, my style wasn’t too dissimilar to Ven’s cabin. Maybe a bit bigger, with a half-bath for guests and a whole lot more land to run across, but that was about it. My daydreams weren’t of grottos and five floors of way too many rooms with marble ceilings. It was cats purring when I first woke up in the morning, vocalizing their need for food. It was looking out of the back windows and seeing Ven working in her massive garden and finally getting those chickens she always wanted. It was my pack, united and finding their way in life once again.

Memorizing the manor had been one of the most difficult parts of our prep. So many rooms, hallways, and closets. I’d thought it wouldn’t be too much of a challenge since we’d had to do the same for the auction, but it turned out that the older the estate was, the less its architecture actually made sense.

It didn’t help that we were all entering at different points of the truly expansive manor, because no matter how slick we were, a group of fifteen shifters all arriving through the kitchen door was bound to raise eyebrows. But if just one of us was caught? It was much easier to bullshit some story about being lost or that we were a new hire.

It was such a tenuous balance to find as I strode along, picking my way toward the center of the manor. I needed to walk confidently enough to look like I knew what I was doing, but not so assuredly that I looked like a wolf on the prowl.

Which I very much was. I could practically taste the blood of the last two brothers on my tongue. We were close. Closer than I ever thought was possible.

According to our reconnaissance, there were three major areas where the brothers tended to spend their leisure time. Thebilliards room where, apparently, they had a whole setup for off-track betting. What warlocks found interesting about waging human money on horse races, I had no idea, but apparently it was a thing. The sitting room, where they had a TV that Jack and Rose could have used as a life raft off the Titanic, and then their greenhouse. Although, from my understanding, that last one was only for one brother. That would be the least convenient space for him to be, as it was a giant glass building attached with a single glass hallway on the western side of the manor. Way too hard to sneak up on, and the idea of fighting a plant-controlling warlock in his own conservatory was most certainly not an appealing one.

Bit by a bit, I made my way, maintaining an easy pace so as not to arouse suspicion, but also not looking lost. I was just an employee, headed to… somewhere. If someone took the time to think, I was sure they would be confused as to why a grounds employee was so deep within the estate. But if there was one thing I had learned since Ven had snuck onto Chadwicke’s gardening crew, it was that staff were basically invisible.

It wasn’t until I reached a stairway that led to the sitting room—which was basically a stupidly fancy word for a living room—that I finally caught the scent of the brothers. While I didn’t know what their personal smells were, there was a certain scent of brimstone and sappy sweetness to their magic, like it was trying to entice me and warn me to go away. Locking on to that scent, I knew I was heading in the right direction. I couldn’t smell any of my allies, but that was all part of the plan. We were slathered in all sorts of scent-blocking sprays and lotions, applied far more heavily than usual to make up for our swim. The septic team didn’t need nearly as much prep, but that’s because what they smelled like wasn’t exactly something the warlocks would want to take a deep sniff of. Maybe dogs were on to something when they rolled in their own shit.

Keeping the layout at the forefront of my mind, I drew ever closer. As I rounded a corner toward one of the last hallways, I picked up my allies’ footsteps marching ever closer. They were all coming from different directions but homing in on the same place. I allowed myself a single smile, until a voice startled me. I actually jumped, feeling a bit chagrined at myself, but I calmed down quickly when I realized it was the voice of a guard a ways over. I must have heard him through the room separating the parallel wings.

“I’m sorry, who did you say hired you?”

“Sorry, no… understand?”

That was America. Although we hadn’t spent a lot of time together, she had a very distinctive way of talking. Trying to be as quiet as possible, I stepped through the door to my right and quietly made my way through what appeared to be a fancy study, with several marble statues in it. Who had marble statues in their home? It was one thing to have them outside in some hoity-toity garden, but it was another thing entirely to have them as interior decorations.

I really wasn’t cut out to be a rich person.

But class differences or not, I had an ally to help. Cautiously, I picked my way to the other door and listened intently, waiting to see if America could de-escalate the situation before I lunged in. Ven had taught me quite a lot, but one of the biggest things was that a little bit of caution in battle could very well be a good thing. I didn’t always need to go in guns blazing.

“Nah, don’t give me that shit. Everyone here is supposed to be able to understand basic English. “

“I understand some, yes.”

“I ain’t buying this. Come with me. We’re going to go get this straightened out with the head of staff.”

That was my cue. As fast as I could, I threw open the door and grabbed the guard on the other side, slapping my hand overhis mouth and yanking him backward into the room with me. He struggled, but only for a moment, because then America was on him, leaping onto his front and head-butting him about as hard as I’ve ever seen anyone crack skulls together.

Was that a coyote thing I wasn’t aware of?

Whether it was or not, he slumped in my arms, unconscious. America jumped back on her feet, the bruise on the middle of her forehead already beginning to heal.

“Thanks for that,” she said with a grin. “Was worried I’d have to get up to some very noisy shenanigans.” She was speaking in a low whisper—one I wasn’t sure non-shifters could even perceive considering it partially used the subharmonics our animal sides often communicated in. Maybe I would test it out with Ven one day if we weren’t too busy.

Thinking about having an idle day with my love reminded me that we were a breath away from truly having peace. I still had to find the rest of my pack, sure, but that would be a whole lot easier if I could get information out of the remaining brothers.

I had a feeling I could be very convincing.

“Wouldn’t want that, now, would we?” I asked, ripping off the sleeve of the man’s standard black suit and tying it around his head as a gag. Then his other suit sleeve went to tying his wrists together, then a shirt sleeve to tying his feet together. Would it hold him long? Not likely. Even though I could smell that he wasn’t a shifter, there was a hint of magic about him that told me it was better not to assume he was fully human.

It only took about two minutes to get him tucked away in the corner of the room, but once we did, America and I both stood there for a moment. I wasn’t quite sure what was on her mind, but I was contemplating the reality that the brothers who had been tormenting us for so long were likely a couple of rooms away.

“We’re so close,” she murmured. “It’s hard to believe it.”

“Let’s see it through, then,” I said, giving her a grave nod. I knew there was merit to not counting our chickens before they were hatched, but it was hard not to let my mind drift to all the way our lives would change by ending the bloodline that had hurt so many of us. I wanted all the stupid things that separated us to be forgotten so we could be a loose-knit community no one would take advantage of again. I wanted to wake up every morning to Ven’s sleepy face and never have to worry about powerful magic users going after her. Iwantedto spend my days catching up with pack members, helping my love in her garden, and learning more about everything. Ven had mentioned there were schools on the internet now. Maybe I could go to college? I’d never really considered it to be a possibility for myself, but if the brothers were truly gone, and if I managed to reunite my pack, then why not? Being with Ven had taught me that no person had to be just one thing. I could still be an incredible alpha while taking night classes. They were not mutually exclusive. Ven, with her gentle words, her fierce determination, and the way she loved on her cats, had opened up worlds and experiences I thought were forever locked away.

“All right, then.”

I headed to the door first, holding it open for America. She gave me a silent tip of her head. Although the brothers didn’t have enhanced senses like we did, it was best to be cautious.

At least that was what I told myself as my heart pounded in my chest while we walked down the hallway. As we drew closer to the doors of the main sitting room, I couldn’t help but think that even a human would be able to hear thethump-thump-thumpemanating from my chest. If they had any shifters in their security detail, we were cooked.

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